Internal combustion engine



Jan. 28, 1941. H. c. TRYON 2,229,906

INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE Filed Sept. 6, 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig, 1.

Jan. 28, 1941. H. c; TRYON 2,229,906

INTERNAL COMBUST ION ENGINE Filed Sept. 6, 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 g Q D V mmvmsys 9 1941" H. c. TRYUN INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Sept. 6, 1939 mum/rm Patented Jan. 28, 1941 iJNl'i'ED STA'l'Efi il i i ith INTERNAL COMBUSTIUN ENGENE Application September 6, 1939, Serial No. 293,502 In Great Britain September 15, 193% 1'7 Claims.

This invention relates to internal combustion engines and more particularly to the cylinders or sleeve valves within which the pistons operate.

It has been found that in some instances oil on the wall of the cylinder or other bore in which the piston operates, passing by the scraper ring or rings and reaching the combustion space, results in excessive oil consumption. To prevent this it has been customary to provide holes through the piston placing the scraper ring groove in communication with the interior of the piston. In some instances, however, more especially in the case of engines having horizontal cylinders, this has not always been found satisfactory.

The invention is applicable to internal combustion engines having vertical, horizontal or inclined cylinders but, for the sake of convenience, the end of a cylinder adjacent to the usual cylinder head will be referred to as the upper end or combustion chamber of the cylinder while the other end will be referred to as the lower end of the cylinder.

In an internal combustion engine according to the present invention the bore in which the piston or each piston operates is formed at or adjacent to the end remote from the combustion chamber with a plurality of oblique or helical grooves which are overrun by at least a part of the piston at the end of its outstroke, these grooves servingto receive and permit the escape of oil scraped from the bore by the piston or by a scraper ring or rings carried thereby.

Each of the grooves or of a selected number of the grooves may be provided with holes passing through the wall of the cylinder, cylinder liner or sleeve valve in which the bore is formed. In the case of horizontal cylinders the holes may, for example, be confined to the lower part of the periphery of the bore where oil is more liable to collect. Where such holes are employed a single hole may be provided adjacent to the upper or the lower end of each groove or each groove may be provided with. holes adjacent to both its ends.

The invention is particularly concerned with engines in which the piston operates in a sleeve valve and where the sleeve valve is of a type having a combined oscillating and reciprocating movement the grooves are preferably so inclined in relation to the oscillating and reciprocating movement of the sleeve valve that during the initial part of the movement of the sleeve from its uppermost to its lowermost position, the oscillating movement is such that the upper end of each groove is circumierentially in advance of the lower end.

The particular arrangement of the grooves will vary according to circumstances but in one specific arrangement the grooves are inclined at approximately 45 to the axis of the cylinder and are spaced so that the upper end of each groove overlaps circumferentially the lower end of the groove on one side of it.

The grooves may be employed in conjunction with a plain scraper ring or rings on the piston or in some cases it may be desirable to use a scraper ring with one of its edges scalloped or otherwise formed to provide between this edge and the adjacent side of the groove in which it lies a number of recesses to receive oil, such oilreceiving recesses coming into communication with the grooves at or towards the end of the outstroke of the piston.

It will be appreciated that various modifications may be made according to circumstances but two construction-s according to the invention are illustrated somewhat diagrammatically in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of one construction according to the invention applied to a sleeve valve engine showing the piston in its upper dead centre position,

Figure 2 is a similar View to Figure 1 showing the piston in its lower dead centre position, and

Figure 3 shows an alternative construction as applied to an engine in which the piston operates directly within the cylinder bore.

In the construction illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, the engine comprises a water-cooled cylinder A having inlet and exhaust ports one of which is shown at B controlled by a sleeve valve C, the upper end or the combustion chamber of the cylinder being closed by a cylinder head A which extends within the upper end of the sleeve valve, as shown.

Arranged to reciprocate Within the bore of the sleeve valve is a piston D having two pressure sealing rings D and two scraper rings D this piston being coupled to a connecting rod D A combined oscillating and reciprocating movement is imparted to the sleeve valve in known manner tl'irough a ball and socket joint E interposed between a stub shaft E formed on the lower end of the sleeve and a crank E on a short valve-operating crankshaft E operated at half engine speed.

Formed in the bore of the sleeve valve C adjacent to its lower end is a series of inclined grooves C the inclination of these grooves being approximately 45 to the cylinder axis and their disposition being such that at the end of the downstroke of the piston the scraper rings D lie adjacent to or below the lower ends of the grooves While the pressure sealing rings D lie above the grooves, as shown in Figure 2. The upper end of each groove 0 overlaps in a circumferential direction the lower end of the adjacent groove and each groove is provided adjacent to its ends with holes C which pass through the wall of the sleeve into the crank case.

The oscillating and reciprocating motion of the sleeve is such in relation to the disposition of the grooves that during the initial part of the movement of the sleeve from its uppermost position, as shown in Figure 1, towards its lowermost position, the rotational movement is such that the upper end of each groove lies circumferentially in ad- Vance of the lower end of the groove. Rotational motion in this direction continues throughout approximately half the downward movement of the sleeve, that is to say until the sleeve occupies the position shown in Figure 2, with the result that the grooves tend to have a [pumping action, so to speak scraping oil from the surface of the piston and drawing this oil downwards and delivering it through the holes and direct from the grooves into the crank case.

In the modified construction illustrated in Fig ure 3, the engine comprises a cylinder F the upper end of which is closed by a cylinder head F containing inlet and exhaust ports controlled by poppet valves which have been omitted since they form no part of the present invention, The lower end F of the cylinder F extends, as shown, into the crank case. A piston G having two pressure sealing rings G and two scraper rings G is arranged to reciprocate within the bore of the cylinder and this bore is provided adjacent to its lower end with a series of inclined grooves H similar to the grooves C in Figures 1 and 2, the holes H at the ends of the grooves passing through the lower end F of the cylinder into the crank case. The arrangement is such that the piston G at the end of its outstroke occupies the same position relative to the grooves H as does the piston D relatively to the grooves C in Figure 2.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. An internal combustion engine including in combination a working piston and a bore within which the working piston reciprocates having a plurality of oblique grooves adjacent to the end of the bore remote from the cylinder head and disposed so as to be overrun by at least a part of the piston at the end of its outstroke with a drain hole at the end lying nearer the cylinder head of each of at least a proportion of the grooves, this drain hole leading through the member in which the grooves are formed.

2. An internal combustion engine including in combination a working piston and a bore within which the working piston reciprocates having a plurality of oblique grooves adjacent to the end of the bore remote from the cylinder head and disposed so as to be overrun by at least a part of the piston at the end of its outstroke with a drain hole at the end lying remote from the cylinder head of each of at least a proportion of the grooves, this drain hole leading through the member in which the grooves are formed.

3. An internal combustion engine including in combination a working piston and a bore within which the working piston reciprocates having a plurality of oblique grooves adjacent to the end of the bore remote from the cylinder head and disposed so as to be overrun by at least a part of the piston at the end of its outstroke with a drain hole at each end of each of at least a proportion of the grooves, such drain holes leading through the member in which the grooves are formed.

4. An internal combustion engine including in combination a working piston and a bore within which the working piston reciprocates having a plurality of oblique grooves adjacent to the end of the bore remote from the cylinder head and disposed so as to be overrun by at least a part of the piston at the end of its outstroke, one end of each groove overlapping in the circumferential direction the opposite end of an adjacent groove.

5. An internal combustion engine including in combination a cylinder, a sleeve valve within the cylinder and a piston reciprocating within the sleeve valve, a plurality of oblique grooves being formed in the bore of the sleeve valve adjacent to the end thereof remote from the cylinder head and arranged to be overrun by at least a part of the piston at the end of its outstroke.

6. An internal combustion engine including in combination a cylinder, a sleeve valve within the cylinder and a piston reciprocating within the sleeve valve, a plurality of oblique grooves being formed in the bore of the sleeve valve adjacent to the end thereof remote from the cylinder head and arranged to be overrun by at least a part of the piston at the end of its outstroke, while drain holes lead from at least a proportion of the grooves through the member in which they are formed.

'7. An internal combustion engine including in combination a cylinder, a sleeve valve within the cylinder and a piston reciprocating within the sleeve valve, a plurality of oblique grooves being formed in the bore of the sleeve valve adjacent to the end thereof remote from the cylinder head and arranged to be overrun by at least a part of the piston at the end of its outstroke, while a drain hole leads from the end lying nearer the cylinder head of each of at least a proportion of the grooves, this drain hole leading through the member in which the grooves are formed.

8. An internal combustion engine including in combination a cylinder, a sleeve valve within the cylinder and a piston reciprocating within the sleeve valve, a plurality of oblique grooves being formed in the bore of the sleeve valve adjacent to the end thereof remote from the cylinder head and arranged to be overrun by at least a part of the piston at the end of its outstroke, while a drain hole leads from the end lying remote from the cylinder head of each of at least a proportion of the grooves, this drain hole leading through the member in which the grooves are formed.

9. An internal combustion engine including in combination a cylinder, a sleeve valve disposed within the cylinder, means for imparting to the sleeve valve a combined oscillating and reciprocating movement, and a piston reciprocating within the sleeve valve, a plurality of inclined grooves being formed in the bore of the sleeve valve adjacent to the end thereof remote from the cylinder head and disposed so as to be overrun by at least a part of the piston at the end of its outstroke.

10. An internal combustion engine including in combination a cylinder, a sleeve valve disposed within the cylinder, means for imparting to the sleeve valve a combined oscillating and reciproeating movement, and a piston reciprocating within the sleeve valve, a plurality of inclined grooves being formed in the bore of the sleeve valve adjacent to the end thereof remote from the cylinder head and disposed so as to be overrun by at least a part of the piston at the end of its outstroke, while drain holes lead from at least a proportion of the grooves through the member in which they are formed.

11. An internal combustion engine including in combination a cylinder, a sleeve valve disposed within the cylinder, means for imparting to the sleeve valve a combined oscillating and reciprocating movement, and a piston reciprocating within the sleeve valve, a plurality of inclined grooves being formed in the bore of the sleeve valve adjacent to the end thereof remote from the cylinder head and disposed so as to be overrun by at least a part of the piston at the end of its outstroke, While a drain hole leads from the end lying nearer the cylinder head of each of at least a proportion of the grooves, this drain hole leading through the member in which the grooves are formed.

12. An internal combustion engine including in combination a cylinder, a sleeve valve disposed within the cylinder, means for imparting to the sleeve valve a combined oscillating and reciprocating movement, and a piston reciprocating within the sleeve valve, a plurality of inclined grooves being formed in the bore of the sleeve valve adjacent to the end thereof remote from the cylinder head and disposed so as to be overrun by at least a part of the piston at the end of its outstroke, while a drain hole leads from the end lying remote from the cylinder head of each of at least a proportion of the grooves, this drain hole leading through the member in which the grooves are formed.

13. An internal combustion engine including the combination of elements set forth in claim 9, wherein the oscillating movement of the sleeve valve is such that during initial movement of the sleeve from its uppermost towards its lowermost position the rotational movement is in a direction such that the upper end of each groove is circumferentially in advance of the lower end.

14. An internal combustion engine including the combination of elements set forth in claim 1, wherein the piston carries one or more scraper rings adjacent to its lower edge which at the end of the outstroke of the piston lie adjacent to the outer ends of the grooves and one or more pressure sealing rings which lie above the grooves.

15. An internal combustion engine including the combination of elements set forth in claim 1, in which the piston has a scraper ring one edge of, which is formed to provide recesses between this edge and the adjacent side of the groove in which it lies, these recesses communicating With the grooves at the end of the outstroke of the piston.

16. An internal combustion engine including in combination a crank case, a cylinder, at working piston therein and a member within the bore of which the working piston reciprocates, said member having a plurality of oblique grooves adjacent to the end of the bore remote from the cylinder head and disposed so as to be overrun by at least a part of the piston at the end of its outstroke, to communicate with the engine crank case during at least a substantial part of the piston stroke but to be at all times out of communication with the working chamber of the cylinder.

17 An internal combustion engine including in combination a cylinder, a crank case, a working piston therein and a member within the bore of which the working piston reciprocates having a plurality of oblique grooves lying adjacent to the end of the bore remote from the cylinder head and disposed so as to be overrun by at least a part of the piston at the end of its outstroke but always to be out of communication with the working chamber of the cylinder, and drain holes leading from at least a proportion of the grooves through the member in which they are formed into the engine crank case.

HENRY CHRISTOPHER TRYON. 

